Office of Conservation Issues Emergency Order for Operators in Coastal Area to Monitor Oil Spill, Prepare for Possible Shut Down

BATON ROUGE (May 11, 2010) - The Louisiana Office of Conservation, within the Department of Natural Resources, issued an emergency order today requiring that all oil and gas operators with assets in the parishes immediately adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico monitor forecasts of the movement of oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill, take precautions to protect public safety and be prepared to shut down operations and evacuate personnel.

GULF OF MEXICO DEEPWATER HORIZON OIL SPILL INCIDENT

EMERGENCY ORDER NO. 2010-2

DECLARATION OF EMERGENCY AND ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER

Pursuant to the authority granted to me by Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:1,et seq., and particularly La. R.S. 30:4(C} and 6.1, I hereby make the following findings, declaration and order.

Bobby Jindal declared on April 29, 2010, that a state of emergency existed in the State of Louisiana as a result of the potential impact of oil leaking from the Deepwater Horizon along the Louisiana coast which has created emergency conditions that threaten the natural resources of the State, and the economic livelihood and property of the citizens of the State.

2. On or about April 20, 2010 as result of a blowout of a well being drilled by the offshore drilling rig Deepwater Horizon, approximately 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana, oil began leaking into the Gulf of Mexico at an estimated 5,000 barrels of oil a day.

3. The oil spill area continues to inundate State waters and is potentially volatile, thereby posing a safety and environmental threat to oil and gas operations located within the parishes of Louisiana immediately adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico.

4. For purposes of this order, parishes of Louisiana immediately adjacent to the Gulf of

5. Because the oil spill area currently contains volatiles which pose the risk of fire leading to uncontrolled releases from State regulated oil and gas operations and poses a serious threat to life and safety immediate action must be undertaken to contain and abate the threats posed.

WHEREFORE, I hereby declare that an emergency exists for oil and gas operations in State waters that are located within the parishes of Louisiana immediately adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico, and that the following measures are necessary to prevent substantial or irreparable damage to the environment or a serious threat to life or safety.

ORDER

It is hereby ordered that the following should be undertaken by all operators of oil and gas operations within the parishes of Louisiana immediately adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico in response to the Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Horizon oil spill incident:

1. Maintain familiarity with the following: NOAA's twenty-four (24), forty-eight (48) and seventy-two (72) hour trajectory forecasts, which may be accessed at the following link: http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/doctype/2931/53979/ and the spill area(s) projected location relative to your producing wells and associated facilities and structures.

2. Monitor for oil approaching your operations and take all actions deemed necessary to avoid and mitigate the risks to public safety, including, but not limited to: exhausting any potential ignition sources, implementing personnel protective measures, removal of crude oil and/or condensate in storage at respective sites, air monitoring, and shutting in of wells.

3. Be on notice that the Federal On Scene Coordinator ("Federal OSC") may, if circumstances warrant, require the evacuation or shutting down of your wells, facilities or structures.

4. Be able and capable of shutting down wells, facilities, or structures, including the shutting-in of wells, immediately upon being directed to do so by the Federal OSC.

5. Follow any and all directives and orders of the Federal OSC.

6. Take all necessary actions to coordinate possible shutdown of joint operations and/or common/commingling facilities with the appropriate operators.

7. Notify the Office of Conservation's Engineering Division of any wells, facilities or structures that have been shut down in response to the Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Horizon oil spill incident within twelve (12) hours of shutting down those wells, facilities or structures, including the shutting-in of any wells. Contact the Engineering Division by phone at (225) 342-5513 and by facsimile at (225) 342-2584.

8. This Declaration of Emergency and Administrative Order shall take effect immediately upon execution, and shall expire within 120 days from its effective date, unless modified or extended by further order.

DONE AND ORDERED on this 11th day of May, 2010 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.